Note: This is an archival copy of Security Sun Alert 200392 as previously published on http://sunsolve.sun.com.
Latest version of this security advisory is available from http://support.oracle.com
as Sun Alert 1000277.1.

A vulnerability in the font parsing code in the Java Runtime Environment may allow an untrusted applet to elevate its privileges. For example, an applet may grant itself permissions to read and write local files or execute local applications that are accessible to the user running the untrusted applet.

Sun acknowledges, with thanks, John Heasman of NGSSoftware, for bringing this issue to our attention.

Contributing Factors

This issue can occur in the following releases (for Solaris, Linux, and Windows):

JDK and JRE 5.0 Update 9 and earlier

SDK and JRE 1.4.2_14 and earlier

Note: JDK and JRE 6 and SDK and JRE 1.3.1_xx are not affected by this issue.

To determine the default version of the JRE on a system for Solaris and Linux, the following command can be run:

% java -version

Note: The above command only determines the default version. Other versions may also be installed on the system.

To determine the default version of the JRE on a system for Windows:

Click "Start"

Select "Run"

Type "cmd" (starts a command-line)

At the prompt, type "java -version"

Note: The above command only determines the default version. Other versions may also be installed on the system.

Symptoms

There are no reliable symptoms that would show the described issue has been exploited.

Workaround

There is no workaround. Please see the Resolution section below.

Resolution

This issue is addressed in the following releases (for Solaris, Linux, and Windows):

Note: When installing a new version of the product from a source other than a Solaris patch, it is recommended that the old affected versions be removed from your system. To remove old affected versions on the Windows platform, please see: